Blogging around

In this segment of "Blogging Around", I reviewed Leanne's and Emily's posts on Best of Week and What If?
Leanne's post covered the concept of sight, and perceptions. She spoke of the blind man in "Cathedral", who in some ways knew more and could see more than the close-minded, bitter husband, whose eyes were working perfectly well. Leanne adressed the fact that sometimes, seeing things, especially the brutal things of this world, can affect someone more than actually experiencing the same event. I found this whole post very intriguing, and wrote:
"Leanne, I thought this was really interesting(your favorite word ;]). Especially your last quote, "And if you can see, don't miss up the opportunity to see everything." It's strange to hear that for me, because I find we can almost never truly see everything there is to see, though we may try so hard and focus on knowing all. In fact I wonder, is it better to attempt to see everything, and be dissapointed at the slightest surprise once it is revealed that one cannot see all, or rather to be content in the knowledge that is presented to yourself, while still seeking to have a better understanding? Wow, that's a lot of words. Anyway, I enjoyed your insight and certainly agree that those who cannot see may have an entirely different outlook on the world; why is it that blind people are not more commonly heard of in philosophical discussion, I wonder?
I vote next year's freshman should have an intelligent blind student; maybe we can all learn something."

Emily's post on What If: Short Stories revolved around the pressures of finding a hidden meaning and being forced to put them in her stories, and how that may affect the outcome for the worse. I have felt this frustration many times, and I felt that this new short story assignment was just the one for the job of erasing those fears from our minds for the time being. So, in response to Emily's post, I noted:
"Emiqua,
I feel you. Well, actually, I'm coming at the situation from a slightly different point of view, but I've been exactly where you are before. I think we can relax a little bit on worrying over whether or not Mr. Allen will ask us to *insert hidden meaning here*, because I feel as though if we follow the directions, gestures, and form as content, meaning will come into the things we write, hopefully almost as reflex. If not, no big deal, non? As you said, we're supposed to write a story with STORY and CONTENT, and not a labourious over-emphasis on the lesson of the day. Perfect. I too agree that ever since I heard the words "hidden meaning" and "deep" slither out of a teacher's mouth, it added a whole layer of inauthentic and forced meaning to something that we'd rather just enjoy/interpret for ourselves, and to try to apply that to one's own short story may just be crossing a line. A meaning shouldn't be forced, I find, and if you end up having one, wouldn't it be better to discover after having written the story? I'd love a moment like that, personally.
Anyway, I think this is the perfect kind of assignment for letting all those worries go, and I think you're doing just the right thing by sitting down, using what you know, and just trying to make the best short story you can. Leave the deeper meaning treasure-hunt to the poor 6th graders who just discovered that literature will mean getting beat over the head with political context and "hidden insight" for the next three years-- we've got fun stories to write. :]"